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When there were no external enemies, Natsu and Gray were each other's biggest rivals, and searching for Mavis's super magic inheritance was naturally part of their competition.
However, for the ice and fire mages of Tenrou Island, there was only one way for them to compete, and that was...
"Flame brain! Take this!"
"Hmph! Ice block pervert! Take this punch!"
Natsu's fire punch missed, hitting a rock half-buried in the ground, sending shattered stones flying.
Fortunately, Natsu controlled his magic in time, preventing the flames from igniting the surrounding trees, otherwise, if the Guild Master and Erza found out, he would surely be severely lectured.
Natsu shook his hand, "Tsk, Gray, it's all your fault. Why did you dodge and make me miss?"
"It's clearly your own bad aim!" Gray retorted, he wasn't foolish enough to take the blame Natsu was throwing at him.
The two arch-rivals glared at each other, about to pounce again, when an exasperated roar came from afar: "You two brats—that's enough!!!"
Along with the powerful roar, a strong aura instantly enveloped the two brawling mages. Natsu and Gray froze, like small animals targeted by a beast, and cold sweat immediately broke out.
"Oh no! It's the Guild Master!"
Natsu and Gray exchanged glances. It must have been the huge commotion from their magic fight that alarmed Makarov.
Gray's eyes darted around, and he immediately found an excuse, "It's all your fault, Natsu, for using magic for no reason. This is the guild's sacred ground. Can you afford it if you damage the plants?"
"How is it my fault? You talk as if you didn't use magic." Natsu immediately retorted. Both of them did it, so if they were going to die, they would die together.
"But it seems like it's just the Guild Master."
"What? Do you want Erza to come too?"
Thinking that Erza was also searching for Mavis's tombstone, Natsu and Gray immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to Makarov, the two were still more afraid of Erza. This was a psychological shadow formed from being beaten since childhood.
But Makarov's punches weren't light either.
Natsu tried to find a reason to convince himself to run before Makarov arrived, "If this continues, the super magic will be found by Cana or Mira."
"Hmph, at least it won't be snatched by you, you single-minded idiot!" Gray said stubbornly, but his body honestly took a step back.
An enraged Makarov appeared in their sight. The two said no more. The tacit understanding formed over many years made their subsequent actions perfectly synchronized.
Turn around, and flee.
Natsu and Gray fled in disarray in the opposite direction from where Makarov was coming, at their fastest speed, fearing that if they were a step too slow, they would be immediately punished by their Guild Master.
Seeing the two run off, Makarov sighed helplessly, rubbing his temples, "Young people just have so much energy. I'm really getting old; I'm already a bit breathless after just a few steps."
He looked around and saw that only a few stones were broken, with no other signs of damage. It seemed Natsu and Gray knew their limits, so Makarov decided to let the two brats off the hook.
However, Natsu and Gray still didn't know that Makarov had no intention of pursuing them, and they ran blindly in a panic.
Because he was only focused on escaping, Natsu suddenly tripped over something, stumbled, and fell forward onto Gray, who was in front of him. The two embraced and rolled down the slope together in an invincible 'wind-fire wheel' posture.
They landed solidly on a small mound covered in dense vines. Natsu's face was buried in the earthy-smelling vines, his nose stinging painfully.
"Ow ow ow..."
Gray grimaced as he got up, brushing off the dirt and grass from his clothes, and angrily looked at the "culprit" who tripped him. But when he saw Natsu dangling in a comical posture from the vines, Gray instantly forgot his pain.
As long as my brother is worse off than me, then I win!
Natsu instinctively reached out to pull away the tangled vines, realizing that the other ends of the vines were all connected to the small mound, and this small mound looked a bit strange because its side was flat.
"There seems to be something on it."
Gray also noticed something unusual about the small mound. He created an ice blade to cut Natsu down. Beneath the vines pulled away by the two, there was actually a stone wall.
In the center of the stone wall, amidst unknown magical patterns, a purple spherical crystal ball was embedded. Golden-yellow specks of light of varying sizes floated like bubbles within the ball.
Natsu curiously reached out to touch it and easily removed the purple sphere.
Gray, standing nearby, observed it and realized that it wasn't a crystal ball at all, but a natural spherical jade stone, about half the size of a head.
"This... such strong Magic Power!"
Natsu, holding the jade stone, showed a surprised expression. Just by touching it, the jade stone in his hand actively transmitted Magic Power to him. Although the quantity wasn't much, the quality of the Magic Power was terrifyingly high.
Seeing this, Gray also took the spherical jade stone, but strangely, he didn't feel the jade stone transmitting Magic Power to him. Instead, the ice-attribute Magic Power within his body inexplicably became a little purer.
"What exactly is this thing? A treasure of Tenrou Island?"
Natsu held the jade sphere above his head, facing the sunlight, as if trying to see through the jade stone with the help of the sun.
Gray shrugged, "I don't know, but the First Master should know. No one understands Tenrou Island better than she does."
They had been out for a while. Gray and Natsu discussed it and decided that Makarov should have calmed down by now. Going back at this point would at most result in a few criticisms for their recklessness.
So, the two returned the way they came.
However, as soon as the ice and fire duo returned to the outskirts of the camp, they heard the excited laughter of a certain drunken girl.
"Hahaha, I'm a mage with super magic too! Next S-Class exam, let's see who can compete with me!"
In an instant, Natsu and Gray seemed to turn to stone.
In the camp, Noah looked at the magic tattoo on Cana's wrist, his mouth twitching, "Using super magic in the exam, isn't Cana being too unfair?"
Cana stuck out her tongue triumphantly, "Hey, I was lucky enough to find it first. Of course I'm going to use it in the exam—otherwise, how will anyone know how powerful I am?"
Noah rubbed his forehead.
Just as Cana said, she was the first to find Mavis's tombstone, and Mavis did not break her promise, bestowing her magic inheritance, which was fused with the tombstone, upon Cana.
While happy that her magic finally had a successor, Mavis was also a little dejected.
She had carefully selected what she thought was a perfectly hidden spot, yet it was accidentally discovered by a wandering Cana in less than half an hour. This left Mavis feeling a bit disheartened.
Is this the legendary situation where smart people rack their brains, but still can't compare to someone else's bit of luck?
Noah waved to the outside of the camp, "Natsu, Gray, how long are you two going to stand there foolishly? The Guild Master said that he forgave you."